File photo | The RepublicanA Belchertown resident throws a pay-as-you-throw trash bag into a collector at the town's transfer station.

GRANBY – The Selectboard voted unanimously last week to adopt a “pay-as-you-throw” system for trash disposal in Granby as soon as possible – which could mean only a few months from now.

“Pay-as-you-throw,” which has been adopted by such towns as South Hadley and Longmeadow, is designed to reduce trash by charging people by the bag.

“It’s a program we promote to reduce waste and increase recycling,” said Arlene Miller of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, who met with the Selectboard last week.

Granby has been under pressure to come up with a new trash program because its landfill is scheduled to close in December 2012.

Since Jan. 1, Granby has been paying $65 a ton to use the landfill. Before that, residents got to use the landfill for free as part of their contract as “host” of the landfill, which is owned by Waste Management.

The reasoning behind pay-as-you-throw is that people who produce a small amount of trash should be charged less than people who produce a large amount of trash. The amount is measured by the official bags designated by each town. People pay by the bag. If a household produces only one or two bags of trash a week, it will pay less than a household that puts out five or six each week.

Apart from monetary incentives, the program benefits the environment. If paper, plastic, compost and useable items are recycled instead of being “thrown away” with trash, landfills will not be clogged as quickly.

The Selectboard and the Ad Hoc Landfill Closure Committee have been discussing disposal options all year.

In a phone interview, Miller said planning for the pay-as-you-throw program in Granby is in its preliminary stages, and people will have many questions about it, which will be answered in the coming weeks.

For example: What will the bags look like? How much will they cost? How much will they hold? Where will they be sold? What can be recycled?